


Making the Grade

by illusive_delusions



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 20:34:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15421053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illusive_delusions/pseuds/illusive_delusions
Summary: Gilbert gets some good news but isn’t quite sure how to go about telling Anne.





	Making the Grade

For years Gilbert Blythe had been, unquestionably, the brightest student in Avonlea. A naturally inquisitive child, he had taken to public education like a match to the kindling, routinely burying himself in his studies in his quest to learn everything he could. He consumed books with the voracious intensity of a starved man at a feast, practiced his spelling aloud to the cows and chickens as he did his chores, and overall set himself up to entirely dominate in the arena of his education. 

 

Until Anne. 

 

Anne had been the thorn in his academic side since she had returned to Avonlea School after the Gillis Homestead fire; consistently beating him at spelling, history, algebra, science, and one time even at geometry. His once untouchable ranking became a daily struggle under her dedication and intellect, and it wasn’t long after her arrival on the island that he was bumped for the very first time from the top spot in class.  

 

Gilbert considered the notion that Anne’s triumph should have made him mad — but it didn’t. Quite the opposite, in fact. He took a silent delight in the stiff competition, and her tenacity only drove his own learning further than he could have ever dreamt. It was kind of fun to sit in class on Friday afternoons and actually not know who would walk into the weekend with the highest marks. 

 

They went back and forth with clockwork regularity, trading first and second place every other week or two, seemingly dependent more on divine providence than any particular skill or defect within the two competitors, who were academic equals if ever there were such things. 

 

After Gilbert returned from his year away he had worried that he had fallen too far behind her to ever truly catch up, but between his newfound passion for his studies and the tireless work of their new teacher Ms. Stacy, he found himself once again on an equal footing with Anne Shirley-Cuthbert.

 

He also discovered that the nature of their rivalry had changed. Now that they were friends (real, honest-to-god friends — he could hardly believe his good fortune,) they spent more time studying together and assisting each other rather than engaging in petty one-upmanship. Their competitive spirit had not waned, however, just the opposite. With both of them declaring their intentions to attend college, their rivalry had actually taken on a renewed sense of importance and fervor. It was only that now they were each driven to succeed  _ because  _ of the other, not in spite. 

 

They had finally realized that working towards the same goal made them natural allies, not enemies. 

 

Gilbert had once considered this a blessing. He had cherished the opportunity he had had throughout the school year to get close to Anne, had reveled in her successes and thoroughly enjoyed her triumphs, and had even managed some playful banter with her regarding their final examinations which would determine their futures — a topic he felt entirely too uneasy to joke about with anybody else. 

 

But now, standing in his kitchen Gilbert Blythe knew for sure that maintaining his rivalry with Anne while trying to cultivate a deep friendship with her had been a very, very bad idea. 

 

In his hands he held a letter bearing the words ‘congratulations’ and ‘uniquely impressive academic record’ and ‘we are delighted to offer you a spot in our class’ but it all felt empty and wrong. Because the letter from Queen’s college wasn’t just an acceptance. It also bore the phrase which was the nail in his coffin: “Top Marks in Prince Edward Island.”

 

Once those words would have thrilled Gilbert beyond measure, but now, given the prospect of having to tell Anne that he had earned the top spot which they had both so coveted, he was filled with more dread than delight. He was proud of his accomplishment to be sure, but the image of Anne’s crestfallen disappointment was enough to make his heart feel like lead in his chest. 

 

He never could have imagined he would actually  _ beat  _ her. 

 

Anne was far and away the smartest person he had ever met, and deep down he had felt from the moment of her arrival that his would always be a race to second place with her around. And it hasn’t really mattered to him. Gilbert had accepted a long time ago that she was smarter than him, and had simply assumed that would be reflected in their final academic record. 

 

Apparently by some dumb luck that had not proven to be the case. Perhaps the calculus paper had tripped her up slightly? She always had been slightly intimidated by the higher level mathematics courses, maybe she had let her nerves get to her? Maybe she hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before the tests, maybe she’d had a migraine headache, or had forgotten to eat breakfast. 

 

Whatever the reason, Gilbert was now faced with the moral quandary of his life. He’d had his letter for three days now and had yet to share his results with the one person he wanted most to confide in. He’d sort of been waiting around for Anne to receive her own letter so that he wouldn’t have to break the news to her himself, but alas, that hadn’t happened yet and he knew that he had to tell her sooner or later. 

 

Besides, shouldn’t he be the one to tell her? They were friends after all, and what kind of friend would he be if he couldn’t even bring himself to be the bearer of bad news when the matter was one of her education? 

 

On the other hand though, he couldn’t help but envision her reaction. How her lips would pull down into that frown of consternation. How her eyes would well up with frustration and disappointment. How she would look at him like he’d stolen her rightful place. 

 

There was no way she’d want to continue to be his friend. They would go off to college together with her giving him he cold shoulder and the ice queen stare he had earned from her the day he had yanked her auburn braid and called her carrots. He’d be right back at square one, trying to win back her warm smile and all their private jokes. 

 

At this thought a lump the size of Halifax formed in Gilbert’s throat. He wasn’t sure how he would be able to stand having been so close to her, having experienced the light of her friendship, only to have it all ripped away. He’d never get his chance now, he knew, to tell her he loved her, to confess the way his heart practically exploded from his chest when she was around. To admit to her that she was everything to him. 

 

No, now he would forever be the boy who had robbed her of her aspirations. 

 

She had told him, in a private moment on the train to Charlottetown to sit for the exams, how she’d allowed herself to dream only once of what it would be like to get the top spot. She had wanted more than anything, he knew, to be able to take the results list to Matthew Cuthbert with her name in pride of place above everybody else’s. 

 

God how he felt rotten. He wished dearly that his father were here to tell him what to do. Then again, Gilbert supposed, his dad would tell him the same as Bash and Mary — “be a man and tell her today, Blythe. She’ll forgive you.” Somehow he doubted that seriously. 

 

But they were right about one thing. The kind of man who would be worthy of Anne wasn’t the type to engage in a massive lie-by-omission to her face. He’d been invited over to dinner by Marilla that evening as Bash and Mary had plans to visit Mary’s son in town. He’d had no reasonable excuse to refuse, and now his course was set. There was just no way he could sit across from her radiant face at dinner, take her hand in prayers, or converse with her family as though nothing was the matter. He just had to collect himself and do it. 

 

This, of course, only set off another bout of internal debate as he made his way to his neighbor’s home, opting to walk rather than saddle up his horse in order to give himself more time to think of the right words to say to break Anne’s heart. 

 

Gilbert made his way up the path to the Cuthbert home with all the determination he had built up on his walk over to tell her the unavoidable truth.  

 

As he approached the far gate of Green Gables, he spotted her walking out to meet him. He’d never been so nervous to see her in all his life. Usually the sight of her would brighten his whole day, but now seeing her come down the walk towards him filled him with dread. 

 

Gilbert returned her wave as he approached and once they were at a comfortable distance from one another he stopped. 

 

“Gilbert, you have no  _ idea  _ how good it is to see you right now,” she said, a bright smile breaking across her pretty freckles face. 

 

_ Now’s your moment, Blythe. Out with it.  _

 

But he couldn’t do it. So he simply stood there exchanging neighborly pleasantries with her, trying to pluck up the courage to throw a grenade onto this relationship which had become so very important to him. Of course, as with all his encounters with her, he found himself entirely unable, perhaps even subconsciously unwilling, to hide what he was feeling from her. When it came to Anne he had always worn his emotions in his eyes, and when it came to his anxiety there would be no exception. 

 

“What’s the matter, Gil” she asked, finally forcing the issue once and for all. “You’re acting… off.”

 

“I… ahem, I have some news, er, rather… I mean,” he stammered out like she was holding a gun to his head instead of staring up at him with those big, caring blue eyes for what he feared was the last time. 

 

He steeled himself and began again. 

 

“I got a letter a few days ago… from Queen’s.”

 

“Oh, is that right?” 

 

“I… um. Well.” Without thinking, he thrust the letter he had been clutching into her hands. She held the letter for a moment without moving or seemingly even breathing. Then she ripped open the letter with barely enough restraint to prevent it from tearing in two. 

 

Her eyes scanned the words on the single page in her hands several times over before she looked up again and met his gaze. 

 

A beat of silence. Then another. he felt like he couldn’t breath. Is this what a heart attack was like? He desperately searched her face for a sign of what she was thinking, but for once she was a blank canvas. 

 

“Anne…”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I completely understand if you’re upset but could you ple—”

 

Suddenly the wind was knocked out of him as she barreled into his chest at top speed, closing the short distance between them in an instant. 

 

Gilbert was confused for a brief moment —  _ is… is she trying to fight me? —  _ was actually his first thought but he quickly realized that her motivation was not to tackle him but to congratulate him. If all the reactions he had anticipated this was not one of them. 

 

“Anne,” he breathed out again. She remained nuzzled against his chest, her arms wrapped so tightly around his waist that it was as though she’d never let go, but she offered him a muffled reply nonetheless. 

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You aren’t… mad?”

 

“Mad?!” She pulled back from him just enough to look him in the eye but her arms remained around him. “Gilbert, I’ve never been less  _ mad _ in my entire life! Why on earth would I be mad at you?”

 

“It’s just, I know we were both vying for first and—”

 

“And you got it! It wouldn’t be much of a competition if victory was a foregone conclusion, now would it? You worked really hard for this Gil.”

 

“But you wanted it so bad—”

 

“I can be a little disappointed for myself without being  _ angry  _ at you! I’m so… so  _ proud  _ of you Gilbert!”

 

Then her face was buried in the crook of his neck again and she was actually  _ laughing _ into their embrace. For the first time since he had received the letter he felt entirely happy. He wrapped his arms around Anne in return. He couldn’t help it. He was so relieved that she didn’t resent him that he couldn’t think about the impropriety of it. He spun her around in a circle in his arms and Anne whooped with delight, throwing her head back and shouting “You got first! In the whole province!”

 

He let her go and studied her broad smile, his heart bursting with love in his chest. 

 

“And you’re sure you’re okay?”

 

“Oh, Gilbert. I never really expected to beat  _ you _ . Besides, this just means that when we get to Queen’s I’ll have double the incentive to beat your academic record.”

 

“Fair and square?”

 

“Fair and square.”

 

She smiled up at him so warmly that he felt he would melt under her gaze. Then she tossed her head back and shrieked with delight again, causing him to renew his laughter. And that’s how Matthew Cuthbert found them a few moments later, engaged in another joyous embrace. 

 

“What’s happened?” he enquired, pausing in his trek from the fields up to the house for dinner. Anne pulled back from Gilbert and beamed at her adoptive father with so much emotion reflected in her eyes that Matthew had to look away, choosing instead to analyze the Blythe boy’s expression which seemed to be one of dazed wonderment. 

 

For half a second Matthew got the notion in his head that his Anne had just been  _ proposed  _ to at the end of the walk in front of the little gable home — then Anne shed some light on his confusion. 

 

“Oh, Matthew, it’s the most wonderful thing. Gilbert’s just gotten his acceptance into Queen’s Academy and he got the highest examination scores in all of PEI!” She exclaimed. 

 

“Ah. Well.” Matthew said. “I suppose congratulations are in order.”

 

“Thank you, Mr. Cuthbert.” Gilbert said, with a smile. 

 

“C’mon Gil, we’ve gotta go tell Marilla, she’ll be so thrilled!” Anne took Gilbert by the arm and ran up the walk with the boy trailing a step behind. 

 

Matthew made his way slowly after them, pride bursting in his heart. His Anne was a good student and a kind hearted, generous person, but she was also a very good friend. He wasn’t sure where she’d learned that skill, as neither he nor Marilla were ever particularly adept at navigating relationships, but she was one nonetheless. 

 

His heart also clenched with a different emotion as he watched the pair running together across the garden. He always had liked the Blythe boy, liked him even more so after he saw the way the young man treated his Anne, but more and more in recent months Matthew had come to think that maybe the two weren’t destined merely for friendship. Anne wasn’t quite the little girl that she had been when he brought her home, and soon enough she would be going off to the Academy and maybe even to Redmond College after that. And Gilbert Blythe was himself now more a young man than a boy. 

 

Yes, Matthew Cuthbert thought, there was something more there than there had been, and maybe someday in the not too distant future he would come out into the garden and stumble upon a very similar scene as the one he had witnessed tonight — perhaps one involving an engagement ring after all. 

 

“Hmm.” He muttered as he paused at the door to remove his work boots. Inside he could hear Anne gushing over Gilbert’s news to Marilla. Remains to be seen. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
